Fiera Capital Corp Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 29,561 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,845,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 102.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $1,881,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 15.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its position in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $271.06 on Monday. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $272.68. The firm has a market cap of $194.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.78.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.